Garden Tip: How to get your cymbidium blooming

A cymbidium orchid grown by Paul Chim is photographed in San Leandro, Calif., on Wednesday, Feb. 8, 2012. Chim, who has been growing orchids since the 1960s, and his wife Phyllis will be exhibiting flowers at the Pacific Orchid Exposition. (Anda Chu/Staff)
ANDA CHU

Cymbidiums are blooming now, and the beautiful flowering stalks can last several weeks. Large flowered ones can have 12 or more, four-inch flowers per stem.

This type of orchid is easy to grow. Plant them in a commercial orchid mix, and give them regular water in a partly shaded place. Of course, for the best flower display you should apply fertilizer, too.

In October or November, begin using a "bloom formula" with low nitrogen and higher potassium and phosphorus. Feed your cymbidiums once a month until the flower spikes appear in early spring. During the growth period (spring through summer) use a high nitrogen fertilizer.

When it's flowering you can move the pot to a conspicuous place (such as the front door) and everyone who visits also can enjoy them.